Truck accidents are among the most dangerous of all traffic collisions. They are especially dangerous to people in passenger cars who suffer the brunt of the injuries in collisions with tractor trailers. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, most fatalities in truck accidents are people in passenger vehicles. This is due to the much larger size of semi-trucks compared to passenger vehicles. Since semi-trucks weigh up to 80,000 pounds – about thirty times what a family sedan weighs – it’s easy to see why injury is so likely.
If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, you should seek medical treatment and contact an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to evaluate the accident and discuss the steps available to you. A semi-truck accident lawyer can make the process of seeking fair compensation more understandable and less stressful. That’s exactly what you need while you’re recovering.
We serve clients across South Carolina, including Indian Land, Fort Mill, and Rock Hill.
Make Yourself Safe After the Semi-Truck Accident
The first step to take after a semi-truck accident is to make yourself safe. Ideally, this means moving off the road, so you aren’t at risk of being hit by another vehicle approaching the scene. It’s also best to put up reflectors or road flares, if possible, to warn other drivers of an accident up ahead.
However, you should not try to move off the road if you think you may have a spinal injury as a result of the accident. How can you tell? If your fingers, toes, hands, or feet feel numb or tingling, you may have suffered spinal damage. Pain in your head or neck, feelings of pressure, or paralysis anywhere in the body are also signs of a spinal injury.
Call the Police and Seek Medical Attention
The next step is to call 911 and seek immediate medical attention for all truck accident victims. One thing you should never do is drive away. You can get you charged with a hit-and-run accident. Instead, you should call 911 and wait at the accident scene for police to show up.
One reason you should call the police immediately is because they will document what happened in an official police report, which may provide helpful evidence if you pursue a truck accident claim.
You should seek medical attention right away, even if you don’t think you’ve been injured. Injuries such as concussions and other internal injuries may not present obvious symptoms except to a trained medical provider.
If you don’t seek medical attention, you could find yourself with more serious, untreated problems later. In addition, it is much harder to develop an accident case and seek compensation for injuries that are not documented immediately.
Report the Truck Accident
In South Carolina, motorists must report any auto accident that results in more than $1,000 of property damage, injuries, or deaths.
Typically, an officer will come to the crash site to investigate and write an accident report. The crash report will contain information essential when filing a semi-truck accident claim, such as:
- The vehicles involved
- Any injuries or property damage
- Traffic and weather conditions
- Whether anyone received citations or was arrested
- A diagram of the accident scene
- The officer’s assessment of what happened and who was at fault
Remember to request a copy of the police report as soon as it is available. The insurance company will want a copy, and the report can serve as critical evidence in your truck accident claim.
Document the Accident Scene
While waiting for the police and EMTs to arrive, you should use this opportunity to document the accident scene if you are able to do so safely. You should do the following:
- Take photos of any skid marks
- Take photos or video of damage to all the vehicles involved in the accident
- Get the names and phone numbers of any witnesses
- Get the truck driver’s insurance information, license plate number, the truck driver’s employer, and driver’s license information
The information you gather at the accident scene including photos can help an experienced truck accident lawyer establish how the truck crash happened and who was at fault for the accident.
Identify Witnesses
Talk to any eyewitnesses who saw the truck accident happen. Ask witnesses for their contact information and a brief description of what they saw, which you can write down or record on your cell phone. Those witnesses may provide valuable, unbiased statements or testify in a subsequent truck accident claim.
Notify Your Insurance Company
The next step is to notify your insurance company about the accident. Most auto insurance policies require notifying your insurer. Give your insurance company the following information:
- Your policy number
- The date of the accident
- The location of the accident
- The name of the law enforcement agency that responded on-scene
Remember not to speculate about the cause of the accident. Don’t make statements that could imply you were at fault or try to downplay your injuries.
Do not post comments about the accident or provide updates about your injuries on social media. Although it may be tempting to share your experiences, emotions, and updates about the accident, doing so could jeopardize your truck accident lawsuit. Posting details about your accident, injuries, or legal proceedings can inadvertently harm your case.
Insurance companies and legal teams might scrutinize your social media account for any statements, photos, or details they could use to dispute your claim’s validity or the seriousness of your injuries. Anything you post online could be misconstrued or taken out of context, potentially hurting your chances of receiving the compensation you need.
Call a Semi-truck Accident Lawyer
After you’ve made yourself safe, contacted the police, sought medical attention, documented the accident scene, and contacted your insurance company, the next step is to contact a truck accident lawyer to handle your case.
An experienced semi-truck accident lawyer can determine what really happened and who was at fault for it. They can also negotiate with the insurance company for a settlement. When you’re trying to recover from a major accident, the last thing you want to be doing is going back and forth with an insurance company, especially since they will often try to lowball you. A truck accident lawyer can help you pursue the compensation you deserve, taking over the stressful negotiation process so you can rest and recover.
Don’t wait too long to contact a truck accident attorney to evaluate your legal options. In South Carolina, the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit is three years. If you wait too long to file, you could lose your right to seek compensation.
Contact Our Experienced Truck Accident Attorneys in Lancaster, SC
Pursuing compensation from a trucking company and its insurer is not something you should attempt on your own. You may be able to file the claim yourself, but investigating the facts of the case, compiling evidence, and engaging in tough negotiations with the insurance company are tasks that should be left to an experienced truck accident attorney.
If you were injured in a semi-truck accident in Lancaster, South Carolina, contact David Blackwell Law today. Attorney David Blackwell is honored to stand up for honest and hardworking people as they pursue fair compensation for serious injuries caused by the negligence of others. Reach out to David Blackwell Law for a free consultation.